Grey nomads are threatening to bypass the New South Wales town of Mudgee after strict restrictions were imposed on camping at the showgrounds.
In a move expected to cut $15,000 a year from showground income, the Mudgee Guardian reports that campers and caravanners will only be allowed to stay at the grounds if they are involved in events there, or if all the town’s tourist parks are full. And the showground fee structure has changed.
Council has set fees for powered caravan sites at the showground at $31 a day. The fee for an unpowered site will be $24 a day. The fees are from $2-$4 higher than tourist parks.
The newspaper said a report to Mid-Western Regional Council’s meeting last week recommended council determine the cost of upgrading the Mudgee Showground facilities for short-term camping and caravans. But the manager of a family-owned Mudgee tourist park, Brett Swords, objected, saying the council-managed showground should not compete with tourist businesses.
“I am not against using the showground for a horse float or for overflow for big weekends,” he said. “But we believe as ratepayers we like to be on a level playing field.”
He said that with a total of 140 powered sites, including sites big enough for Winnebagos and large vans, Mudgee’s tourist parks had enough room for all but four to six weekends in a year, such as the Small Farm Field Days weekend.
He said upgrading facilities for short-term camping at the showgrounds would be uneconomical, as most of the tourist parks’ income came from cabins and long-term tenants.
While agreeing council should not set up in opposition to businesses, Cr Russell Holden said the showground had been used for camping for more than 50 years and possibly since the 1880s. Setting showground fees higher than those of tourist parks would discourage all but people who genuinely preferred the open space of the showground, he said.
The council has nonetheless approved the changes. The nearby community of Gulgong could be the big winner with its showground possibly attracting grey nomads who choose to bypass Mudgee in future.
The president of the Prospect Caravan Club, Des Heuston, told the Lithgow Mercury that higher fees and uncertainty about whether camping would be allowed at the showground at a specific time meant many travellers would avoid Mudgee – and take their spending money elsewhere.
“The majority of caravanners and campers don’t really need the heated pool and the jumping castles,” he said. “All we require is a clean area and a reasonable site. Because caravans are getting bigger, tourist parks are getting very tight for some vans.”
Mr Heuston said caravanners planned their trips well in advance and budgeted carefully. Confirming all tourist parks were full before booking into the showground would simply put Mudgee in the “too hard basket,” he said.
Camper Peter Zaia of Toongabbie told the newspaper that events which attracted caravanners, such as the Small Farm Field Days or wineries, were also available in other areas. “People will fuel up out of town and go straight past Mudgee,” he said. “Why would you go and stay there? The side of the road looks pretty good, doesn’t it?”
